Okay got my emblem today in the mail and last week ran down to the metal house picked up a piece of scrap preforated aluminum with 1/4 holes X 15/16 spacing. My question to everyone is do you think I should paint the material black or just polish it up and keep it raw and put a clear coat on ??
Well thats the question of the week so any suggestions would be appreciated
Also trying to decide on wether to paint the emblem letters white like Bob did in his write up or not (leaning towards white now)..... hmm so many choices.
Well here a link to the Emblem...
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...49492313Gxeijo
Material I got to use as grill....
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...49492487cNHNlT
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...49492549tsNBhe
Or take a look through the album for the pics so far, I will add more as I go.
And for the ones that have no idea what I am talking about check out Bob's write up :
http://www.4runners.org/articles/satoshi/

 

That aluminum looks kool, different from the mesh, but I think the Staoshi effect is to 'black out' the grille. You'll lose the effect of that panel if painted. Try and see how it looks as is.

 

black.

 

Yeah thats what I am thinking also well the scrap piece I got has enough to do it both ways maybe a little more, plus its alot thicker than the mesh I have seen around and have used in the past so it should be great for the large opening. When I start I will more than likely make 2 panels and see what they look like. I am also going to see if I should even put the emblem on if I don't black it out. Well I will try to add photos when I get started...

 

Where did you all get your grill from? I could not find the stuff that Bob had in his writeup and the only stuff I could find around here wasrain gutter screen with a noticable curve to it...I want flat baby!!

 

when i was living in san francisco last year, there was as industrial metal screen making business in the portrero district part of town. my brother took me there, and we looked through their scraps. that's where i got mine.
i'd imagine you could go to a similar shop around you

 

Yeah I got the gutter guard stuff and used it in the past .....
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...70979523swSkhr
I found it to be a bit flemsy but I didn't cut out the center of my grill when I did it so it was fine...
This time around I found a local metal shop like calrockx said and found they sell off there cutoffs or you can get a full sheet if you like but you can get a deal of the scrap cutoffs they have it in aluminum, steel or stainless if you prefer.
Edit: I forgot to mention they carrry all kinds of patterns.

 

WT,

Black. The silver mesh may allow for the emblem to get "lost" in it. There is not enough contrast, IMHO, which is what you should be looking for.

Scuff it w/ 400 grit and wetsand it. Spray some metal etch on it, let dry according to directions and spray on some black (flat or gloss---your pref). finish w/ a clear coat.

Also, I prefer calrockx's emblem attaching method. cleaner and more theft proof.

Bob

 

I got my grill mesh off ebay for like 5 bucks. I left my emblem silver and I'm glad, nothing else on my truck is white.

Hmm. I have no idea how to get pictures to work right.

 

Okay was in the garage today and tried to see what I could come up with.. Since I did get a 2000 grill I was happy to start to hack up my 96 grill.
Well this is a first try let me know what you think ? should I go black and add the emblem ? Leave it as is and no emblem ? or Leave as is add emblem ?
What do you all think ??
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...52032911UDGKwy
Its not attached yet just test fitting to see how it looks.
Oh if you look through the album you will see the pics as I was going along and the 99+ grill installed.
I still have more material so may make another one in black and mount it more like Bob's write up and see how it looks with emblem and in black next weekend.

 

I think that the grill needs to be mounted deeper to get the correct look. I will be doing this in the near future as well.
Can hardly wait.
Mike

 

Looks good. I like that mesh...

 

Thanks I like this material much more than the gutter guard stuff thats just to thin to span the large opening and its much different than anything else I have seen.. May just leave it blank for now